Trypanosoma cruzi III causing the indeterminate form of Chagas disease in a semi-arid region of Brazil

• Autor(a) principal: Martins, Kiev
• Data de Publicação: 2015
• Outros Autores: Andrade, Cléber de Mesquita, Barbosa-Silva, Andressa Noronha, Nascimento, Gerson Barbosa do, Chiari, Egler, Galvão, Lúcia Maria da Cunha, Câmara, Antonia Cláudia Jácome da
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UFRN
• Texto Completo: https://repositorio.ufrn.br/handle/123456789/31097
• topic: Trypanosoma cruzi; Discrete typing units; Chronic chagasic patients; Clinical forms; Genetic diversity

Objective: Trypanosoma cruzi is subdivided into six discrete typing units (DTUs), TcI–TcVI. The precise identification of each can contribute to tracking wild DTUs that invade the domiciliary environment. Methods: Twenty T. cruzi stocks isolated from 16 chagasic patients, two Panstrongylus lutzi, one Galea spixii, and one Euphractus sexcinctus, from different localities in the State of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, were characterized by genotyping the 30 region of the 24Sa rRNA gene, the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 2 gene, and the spliced leader intergenic region. Results: TcIII was identified in 18.7% (3/16) of patients from different municipalities, as well as in P. lutzi, G. spixii, and E. sexcinctus, indicating the connection between the sylvatic and domestic cycles in this Brazilian semi-arid region. TcI and TcII were also detected, in 37.5% (6/16) and 43.8% (7/16) of patients, respectively. These DTUs were associated with cardiac, digestive, and indeterminate clinical forms, while TcIII was identified only in patients with the indeterminate form. Conclusions: The occurrence of these DTUs reveals important phylogenetic diversity in T. cruzi isolates from humans. TcIII is reported for the first time in northeastern Brazil. These findings appear to indicate an overlap between the sylvatic and domestic transmission cycles of the parasite in this region.